"The effect of a good government is to make life more valuable,-- of a bad one, to make it less valuable."-- Henry David Thoreau

Sunday, February 16, 2003

No postings on yesterday's protests. I think the numbers speak for themselves. At this point I think that nothing short of a mea culpa on the part of the chickenhawks will stop this war. I do think though that Bush should pay heed to the numbers that took to the streets yesterday. Things were pretty civilized yesterday, mostly because the crowds were more middle of the road than fringe. But when those casualty numbers start coming back, it's going to get a whole lot uglier.

By restricting the use of federal AIDS-fighting money by organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas, President Bush is trying to balance his firm anti-abortion policies with his new commitment to battle the AIDS epidemic.

Under the policy, such organizations' family planning operations would be prohibited from involvement in anti-AIDS work.

The plan drew praise Saturday from anti-abortion forces, but groups that advocate abortion rights and provide health services in poor countries were angry. ``They're placing a gag rule on health organizations,'' said Kirsten Sherk, spokeswoman for international programs at Planned Parenthood.